Review: Shadow of Hegemon

I love the book Ender’s Game from Orson Scott Card. Having read through it three times in both English and Chinese, it still offers an astounding reading experience. Prior to the premiere of the Ender’s Game movie, I read Ender’s Shadow because it was said that the movie was also based on this book, in which Bean is the protagonist. It builds another perspective onto the original Ender’s Game storyline and is interesting and fun. After that I was always looking forward to reading other Enderverse books, both in the Ender and Shadow series.

I found Shadow of Hegemon at a local bookstore sale, where the paperback version was cheaper than the Kindle edition. Without a doubt I bought it and started reading. This is the sequel of Ender’s Shadow, and the story is now focused on Ender’s jeesh and the political struggle and turmoil on earth.

In order to keep most readers unspoiled, here is my brief conclusion first: It is an intense storytelling experience, full of conspiracy, political domination, and personal ambition. But it is not perfect, and no better than its predecessor, Ender’s Shadow. Reading this book is worthwhile if you are an Enderverse fan, but do not expect another masterpiece.

Caution: spoiler alert. You can stop here if you want your reading experience of Shadow of Hegemon untouched.

The good part of Shadow of Hegemon is that some scenes reminded me of the highlights of both Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow: how an intelligent and rational person thinks about leadership, tackles difficulty, and manages relationships. That, in my view, is the most important and valuable part of Ender’s Game. Scenes such as Bean’s training with special Thai forces are pleasant and enjoyable. Unfortunately, this part makes up only a small fraction of the whole book.

The political situation of the imagined world falls into my taste but is not especially convincing, though still interesting to me. China and Russia’s alliance for world domination, and a united Muslim nation led by Iran and Pakistan in retaliation for India’s fall, are both familiar and odd. It was also unsettling to read about a plane taken down by a ground-to-air missile in a way that sadly coincided with current world news.

The main protagonists in this book are Petra, Bean, and, in the middle part of the book, Peter Wiggin. Petra is the most annoying protagonist in this novel. Her thinking is not especially persuasive, and much of it is irritating. Another implausible element is the relationship between Bean and Petra: why does Bean want to save Petra? Their bond is not very clear until Card suddenly places it in the middle of the book. Peter and Bean, on the other hand, are portrayed better, and at least their actions do not make me maddening.

Other complaints include the harder vocabulary compared with Ender’s Game, and a rhythm that does not quite hold together. Great tension builds in the first part, but the second part does not fully match it.

In all, that is my review of Shadow of Hegemon, the second book in the Shadow series from Orson Scott Card. I may find more merits about this book during a future reread, or it may turn out I judged it correctly on the first try and only made the mistake of reading it twice.